Signs in a variety of forms and for a variety signs (such as speed limit signs) and information signs (e.g., historical markers, and signs indicating direction and distance to a given city or town) represent just a few types of signs. Usually, all of the information on the sign is painted or otherwise printed thereon in large, easily read letters and symbols.
Another common type of informational sign is a "For Sale" sign announcing that a house is for sale. Such a sign, which usually includes the name and telephone number of the realtor, is ordinarily permanently attached to a stake (e.g., a metal pipe or rod) which can be driven into the ground.
Much less numerous are signs requiring some information to be filled in. Such signs may include announcements of a transitory nature, such as a parking ban of a temporary nature, wherein the sign may include a printed message such as "Emergency--No Parking From.sub.-- to.sub.-- " with the times denoting the start and the end of the parking ban filled in by hand in the blanks.
Portable billboards for announcing special occasions, such as birthdays and anniversaries, have become popular in recent years. Such a sign typically includes an upright easel with a supporting structure for removable letters. Such signs are frequently illuminated. Removable letters are inserted to spell out the desired message, e.g., "Happy Birthday, Sam". Such signs have two objections: they are large (several feet wide and several feet high), ostentatious, and comparatively expensive to rent.
Signs for announcing special occasions are also commercially available. These fall generally into two categories: those in which the sign as sold to the user is affixed to a stake (e.g., by glue or staples), and those in which the sign is supplied without mounting materials (e.g., a stake and some means for securing the sign to the stake).